Remus Lupin - Year one
by Jasper Price
Summary: The first year of Remus's Hogwarts career is filled with fighting roommates, violent trees, attempting to hide his illness, and the rise of the Death Eaters looming over the heads of the students. It certainly looks to be a very interesting year for him.
1. Chapter 1

Waking up in one's own bed was usually a comforting thing. The only time that it wasn't comforting was when you couldn't remember when or how you got there. Of course, for one Mister Remus Lupin this wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Even so, familiarity did not always make for comfort. In fact, this familiar feeling only caused him to worry more. His mind wandered to the night before and he tried to remember everything that had happened, as though remembering would somehow make it better.

Remus could remember getting dressed in a very long shirt. The summer air made it a little more pleasant to wear fewer clothes than normal. Then, he had gone to the barn with his father just as the sun was beginning to set behind the mountains. The roosters had all gone to nest, the cats were curled up in the hay, and the sheep were silent. Remus had followed his father into the barn, a place that had held work horses once upon a time. Now all that was in the barn was a large cage. It was sturdy with iron bars and a padlocked door. There was not getting out of that cage, regardless of what you were.

Mister Lupin had given his son a hug, said that he loved him, locked the cage door and settled down in his chair, a gun across his lap.

Shutting his eyes tight, Remus tried desperately to remember what had happened after that. All that he could recall was being in terrible amounts of pain. Then everything went black. There was nothing to remember. Maybe it was better that way. Maybe he didn't really want to remember.

It was unclear, even to Remus, when he started going through his monthly transformations. Had he been five or six when they had started? All he could recall was a tall man with a white beard showing up at the door. Or perhaps he really hadn't been that tall, perhaps Remus had just been small and thought that all adults were tall. Perhaps, perhaps not. Either way, Remus just called him The Tall Man.

The Tall Man had sat down in the living room on the ugly red paisley sofa. He had told the Lupins about werewolves, creatures that Remus had grown up his whole life being told weren't real. And that day he was informed that he was one of the monsters that lived under the bed and in the closet. He was the creature that lurked in children's dreams.

Remus vaguely remembered his mother crying and his father trying to talk to The Tall Man. All he could really remember was feeling very sick and confused. The Tall Man had promised to return at some point, Remus remembered him saying that much. However, he hadn't seen the man since that day. Remus had just turned eleven and he hadn't heard anything from the tall man since that day.

Groaning, Remus tried to will his limbs to move so that he could examine his injuries. His muscles ached and his joints popped as he sat up. The transformation was incredibly painful and the pain didn't just go away. It wasn't something that left when the wolf did. No, the pain was constant. To be able to stretch out one's body, to have the muscles and the tendons and the bones all change was difficult.

Finally, he forced himself to sit up. Someone, presumably his mother, had dressed him in his flannel pajamas before putting him into the bed. She had also wrapped up his left wrist. Remus rotated his wrist and hissed. His flesh burned beneath the bandage and there was a bit of blood soaking through the white cotton. After a quick check, Remus discovered that he had a bandage on his leg as well, a larger bandage on his right leg and his right leg was absolutely killing him. There was a bruise covering most of his right arm and several small cuts were on his face. All in all, it probably wasn't the worst injuries from a transformation that he had ever had. He still remembered last summer when he broke three ribs and his arm.

It wasn't his own injuries that bothered him, he just hoped that he hadn't accidentally killed any of the animals. Once he had killed a hen and another time it had been a cat. Of course, his parents hadn't told him about any of this; but when Crowy and Moodles both went missing the day after the full moon he had able to draw his own conclusions.

After a few minutes, Remus forced himself out of bed. He held onto his bed frame and tested his weight out on his bad leg. It didn't hurt so much. He could walk without being in extraordinary amounts of pain. Well, no more pain than usual.

He limped into the kitchen and blinked several times. Black-out curtains had been put up in his room as that he could sleep after the full moon. However, the kitchen was bright as the midday sun shined through the windows. The whole room was bright and it hurt him.

"Good morning, sweetheart."

Artemis Lupin, Remus's mother, kissed Remus's forehead and smiled. Like him, his mother had sandy brown hair and light brown eyes. She was a small woman, built thin. Over the years, she had seemed to grown thinner. Maybe it had something to do with watching her son turn into a monster every full moon, but she seemed to have aged quickly.

Then there was his father, John Lupin. He had short dark brown hair and blue eyes that were hidden behind black rimmed glasses. John was a tall man and fairly well built. Thus far, Remus hadn't seemed to have inherited anything physical from his father. They did, however, both share a love for learning. They spent several hours together reading over books in John's study. It was a silent bonding experience where they sat on opposite sides of the room.

"Morning, mum," Remus muttered and rubbed his eyes.

"There's water in the kettle if you wanted some tea," his father said from behind his morning newspaper.

At least something was normal. Standing on the tips of his toes, Remus grabbed a mug from the cupboard and made his morning tea. He added far too much honey to his tea. Honey was the only sweet that Remus was permitted to have, so he made the most of it. After a moment, he became aware that his parents were watching him.

Remus focused on his tea and tried not to think about what he might have done the previous night. "So, how are you all this morning," he asked and walked over the to kitchen table to sit next to his father.

John took a deep breath and folded his paper up. "We need to talk, son."

"Is Dorian alright," Remus asked instantly, his face paling.

"Your kitten is fine," Artemis promised him and sat down. "It's just that you're eleven years old now and we were thinking…" She paused and put her arm around Remus. "You know that school is important, right?"

Remus raised an eyebrow. He hadn't been to school since he was five. His parents had pulled him out after that and his father had taught him at home.

"I thought I was doing very well with my lessons," Remus said and took a sip of his tea. "Did I forget an assignment or something?"

John adjusted his glasses and shook his head. "That's not it, Remus. See, there are actually several things you need to know about. About your mother and about yourself. There are things that we never told you."

Artemis gripped her son's hand tightly. "It'll be alright, Remus. I promise. There's someone who can explain it better than I can. Um, Professor?"

Professor? There was a professor now?

A familiar man walked in from the living room. His purple robes fluttered lightly around his ankles. The first thing that Remus noticed was that the man was incredibly tall and then he noticed the long, white beard. The Tall Man smiled and looked over his half moon spectacles at Remus.

Remus quickly became aware of the fact that he was still in his pajamas. He also became aware that he was covered in scars and bandages. Was there a polite way to excuse himself from the room? Would running be considered acceptable in this situation? Probably not.

"Mister Remus Lupin," The Tall Man sat as he extended his hand. "I'm not so sure if you remember me or not."

Yes, Remus remembered him all too well. "Tall Man," Remus mumbled and shied away from the man. The last time he had seen this man it had been the day he discovered he was a werewolf.

The man smiled and pulled his hand away. "Tall man, you say?"

Artemis wrapped her arms around Remus. "He's very shy, I apologize."

"Oh, no need for that, Artemis. After all, I didn't come bearing very good news the last time that I was here, now did I? However, on this occasion, I hope that Remus will think the news to be quite good indeed."

What good news ever came from a man who announced that you were a monster? "May I be excused," Remus asked quietly.

"Remus, be good, honey."

"I'd like to get dressed," Remus whispered. He avoided looking directly at the man.

Artemis paused for a moment. "Of course, honey. Just come back out in a few minutes. I'm very sorry about this, Albus."

"Again, Artemis, there's no need to apologize to me. If anything I should be the one apologizing to Remus here for not announcing my visit sooner."

Remus slid out of his mother's arms and onto the floor. He should have told the man that there was no reason to be sorry at all, but he couldn't seem to speak. Instead he just turned and hurried down the hallway to his bedroom to change clothes. It would have been nice to have been informed that there would be a visitor.

Once he got to his bedroom Remus collapsed on his bed and closed his eyes. What was wrong with him now? Was he a vampire too? Did vampires exist? If werewolves existed then surely vampires could exist too. If he was a vampire then wouldn't he be craving blood or something? Wasn't that how it went in all the story books?

Remus only vaguely remembered the conversation about being a werewolf. He remembered his father asking if there was a cure or a way to fix it. The man had looked down and shook his head. An idea came to Remus. What if they had found a cure?

There was a soft meowing and Remus opened his eyes. A small grey kitten stared up at him, mewling and demanding to be picked up.

"Hey, Dorian," Remus said as he obliged the kitten's demands. "Dorian, I think something very good might be happening."

_Yes,_ Remus thought, _that's why the man is here! He's figured out a way to reverse this!_

There would be no more pain. He wouldn't be covered in bruises or scars any longer and there would be no more broken bones! He wouldn't have to worry about whether or not he had killed another family pet. Someone somewhere had figured out how to fix him and make him a normal boy again! That had to be it! The Tall Man had looked very happy to see him. A person didn't look happy if they were coming to tell you that you were a vampire.

Quickly, Remus dressed himself. Now he was excited about this. He wouldn't have to be a freak anymore. He would be a normal boy. Remus grabbed Dorian up off the bed and hurried back to the kitchen.

Albus now sat at the table, enjoying a cup of tea. "Ah, you came back."

Remus smiled and nodded. "Yes sir." He took his spot by his mother and sat Dorian down in his lap. "I'm ready now." The sooner he got his cure the better.

"Excellent." Albus moved his cup of tea aside and took a breath. "Have you ever done something you couldn't explain?"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "I do a lot of things I can't explain. I don't usually remember them considering I'm usually a monster at the time. But, you're here to change that, right?"

"In a sense," Albus said.

"So, you've found a cure?"

The room fell silent. Remus looked around and realized that he had been wrong. There was no cure, there had never been a cure. His ears buzzed and he clutched Dorian tightly. All of his hopes were crushed right there. Just as he had begun to find faith again it had been stolen from him.

"This won't make that particular problem better," Albus went on, "but it will make that particular problem different…Jelly bean?"

"What?"

"Would you like a jelly bean?" Albus reached into his robes and withdrew a small red bag.

Remus shook his head. He didn't have sweets, not ever.

"I see." Albus slid the bag back into his robes.

"Can someone just tell me what's going on?"

Finally, John looked up. "You're a wizard, Remus."

Remus was tired of finding out things that were impossible. Wasn't being a werewolf enough? Wasn't believing that enough? Couldn't he be normal in at least some possible way? "Am I a vampire too?"

Albus tilted his head. "Pardon?"

"Well, I'm everything else! I'm a werewolf, a wizard, why not just add vampire too it? What do you do with wizards? Bury them in a hole once a week so that they don't magic people into pigs or something?"

"No, Remus, we send them to school," Albus said calmly.

"School? How do you send people like this to school?"

"Remus, sweetie, it's time to calm down. Why don't we let Albus explain the school to you?"

Remus looked down and petted Dorian. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lose my temper. I just want to be normal and all anyone seems to keep telling me is that I'm odd."

"You think it's odd to be a wizard," Albus asked. He smiled slightly.

"Well, it's certainly not normal."

Albus turned his gaze to Artemis. "Artemis, would you like to explain this to your son?"

Artemis paused and hesitated for a moment. Then, he nodded and held Remus close. "Remus, sweetheart, do you remember how things were when you were younger?"

"Do you mean the part where I wasn't a monster?"

Artemis sighed. "Before that. Things were different. You see, Remus, I've been a witch my entire life. I went to Hogwarts School when I was a girl. Even after you were born and I married your father, well, I was very involved with the magical community. I only stopped after your…accident. I had a feeling that you would take after me and I didn't want you to see all of these wonderful things that you might not be able to learn about. I didn't want to get your hopes up. But, because of Albus Dumbledore here, you will get to experience these things. You'll get to learn to be a wizard."

"Hogwarts," Albus went on, "is probably one of the safest places for a boy. As your mother mentioned, it's a school for young people to learn magic. It's a place that I hope you will enjoy. The Ministry of Magic has brought it to my attention that it will be difficult to have a student among us who suffers from a monthly condition such as yours. Therefore, I've found a way for you to attend our school and cause no harm to yourself or anyone else."

"You're going to put someone who turns into a monster once a month to a school? Where there are children?"

"We've made special arrangements based around your condition," Albus informed him.

"I've done the math. One tenth of my life is spent either being a werewolf or trying to recover from being a werewolf. And you're putting me around other children? They'll know."

"They won't."

"I'll leave every month during the full moon. You'd have to be an idiot not to notice."

Again, Albus smiled. "Remus…you have a very sick mother."

"Mum's sick too?" That certainly wasn't something to smile about! That was a very horrible thing to say.

"No, sweetie, that's just what we're going to tell people. That you have to come home to see your sick mother. Don't worry, no one will figure it out."

_I would,_ Remus thought to himself. "How are you going to keep me away from the others?"

"We have a shack." Albus paused. "Oh dear, that didn't come out right at all. We have a special place for you. It's surrounded with all sorts of charms to keep what's in in and what's out out. It will be a very safe place for your transformation."

Maybe it was like the TARDIS. On the outside the TARDIS was just a police booth, but on the inside is was completely different. "So, like, on the outside it's like a shack but on the inside it's something else?"

"Oh, no, it's a shack all the way through. There's a tunnel that goes to it. We've put a very violent tree over the tunnel so that no one will ever be able to follow you."

Remus blinked. "I hit my head really hard last night, right? I'm in the hospital recovering and this is all a dream."

Albus shook his head. "It's no dream, Remus. This is real."

"But it's…so dumb."

Artemis turned. "Remus, please, be polite."

"Mum, I know that I'm being rude, but this man says he's going to put me in a school full of children and their only protection from me is a shack and a tree."

"A violent tree," Albus added, looking amused.

"Trees can't be violent. It's like if I said I had an extremely contemplative lamp…which I don't."

Albus remained perfectly calm. "In the Wizarding World, Remus, things work differently. We have spells and charms put up so that nothing can get to you and you won't be able to hurt anyone. We have taken all the precautions we can think of in order to keep you and all of the other students safe. I promise you, this is the best we can do for you."

Remus paused. What was he doing? It was as though the Doctor had shown up on his doorstep and offered to let Remus be his companion. It was like Remus was making fun of the Doctor's scarf instead of going to explore the universe. "Is lycanthropy…is it a wizard thing?" he finally asked.

Albus nodded. "Somewhat."

"And if someone were to find a cure…that person would more than likely be a wizard?"

"Or a witch."

Remus bit the inside of his cheek. This could be his chance to help discover a cure. This could be his chance to fix himself. "Can I bring Dorian?"

"Who is Dorian?"

Remus reached down and picked the kitten up out of his lap.

Albus smiled again. "Oh yes, every student is allowed to bring a cat, a toad, or an owl."

"Wow…what a truly random list of animals that was." Not that the animals were the most unusual thing here. Remus sighed and looked up at his mother before looking back to Albus. "Everyone will be safe?"

Albus nodded.

Maybe this could work. Maybe if Remus worked really hard then he could figure out some way to fix himself. No one would be in danger of getting bitten. This could be a good thing. "Alright," Remus said. "Alright, I'll go."

Artemis immediately leaned over and wrapped her arms around Remus, making Dorian mew loudly. "Oh, sweetie! I knew you'd go. You're going to love it there."

Remus wasn't entirely sure that he would love it there, but it would certainly be a new experience for him. He would be learning things.

"And there will be a lot of people your own age," Albus added.

That part was a bit more worrying, but Remus didn't mention anything about it. He had never been around children his own age. Or, at least, he hadn't in a very long time. Maybe it would be easy. He was used to his mother and father, how different could other children be? After all, he was a child and he knew the things he liked. Surely the others would like the same things.

"And I have one thing for you before I go." Albus reached down and dug through a small bag on the floor. He pulled out a very thick book and slid it across the table to Remus.

Remus pulled the book toward him. "Hogwarts a History," he read aloud. "Hogwarts…that's the school, right?"

Albus nodded. "You mother has your acceptance letter. School starts the First of September. I expect to see you there, Mister Lupin."

Nodding, Remus flipped through the pages of the book. It was thick and it would take him the rest of the summer to get through it. However, he was excited to learn about the school. "Thank you, sir," Remus said and looked up. "Thank you for everything."

"No trouble at all. Thank you, Mister Lupin." Albus got up. "I'll be seeing you soon, Remus. Artemis, John, thank you both."

Artemis smiled. "Thank you, Professor. I hope that everything goes well."

"I'm certain that it will."

After bidding Albus goodbye Remus managed to slink off to his room, claiming to be exhausted and overwhelmed. Granted, he was. It wasn't ever dinnertime and he was already worn out. The full moon took a lot out of him and then the conversation with Professor Dumbledore had been tiring.

Remus curled up under his covers with Dorian. He propped his book open and started. It would be hours later that Artemis would come to call Remus for dinner. She would find him asleep, halfway done reading the book.


	2. Chapter 2

_Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw._ Remus thought about the four Hogwarts houses as he followed his mother through London. Out of all of them Remus thought that Ravenclaw sounded the best. They seemed to be the ones most interested in learning. Of course, then again, Hufflepuff didn't sound so bad. He was a patient person, wasn't he? Gryffindor might not be terrible either. Then again, Remus didn't feel very brave. In fact, he felt very scared as he walked through the crowds. Then there was Slytherin. Remus did think he was ambitious, but probably not very cunning.

"Alright, stick close to me, Remus," Artemis said as she took her son's hand and led him into a pub.

Remus had never been inside a pub before in his life. He coughed loudly and tried to ignore the blue smoke that filled the room. This was no place for him. He was thankful when they walked out a back door. But, all there was outside was a brick wall.

Artemis reached into her bag and pulled out what looked like a stick. "Let's see if I can still do this."

Remus watched her carefully as she tapped on the bricks in a rhythmic pattern. She was concentrating very hard and Remus thought she looked quite silly.

Then, suddenly, the wall slid out of place and revealed an entire town. The streets were cobblestone, the store fronts were brightly decorated, and hundreds of people milled about. Most of the people were dressed in bright robes. Children were running around, laughing and enjoying themselves. Remus blinked several times. This was like something out of a story book! Everything was so bright and colourful. It was amazing. This was the most amazing thing he had ever seen in his life.

Artemis smiled down at him. "Isn't it beautiful, Remus?"

Remus could hardly speak. It was more than beautiful. It was perfect. All the colours made him happy. The people were a bit strange looking, but they fit in. Their brightly coloured robes and hats meshed well with the town.

"Alright, sweetie. First I'll have you get your robe fitting, while you're doing that I'll grab your books, alright?"

Remus nodded and followed close behind his mother.

"I'll have to run by the bank. Just don't leave the shop until I get back, alright?"

Again Remus just nodded. He was too busy taking in all the sights and sounds of this new world to really listen to his mother.

Remus followed Artemis to Madame Malkin's. There was a short, squat woman working in there. She looked up and smiled.

"Hogwarts, I assume?"

Artemis nodded.

"Alright," Madame Malkin said. "I'll take good care of him. I've got one boy being fitted right now. Your son should be done in about half an hour."

"Thank you. I'm going to run grab his books." Artemis squeezed Remus's hand. "I'll be back in a few minutes, alright dear?"

"Alright, mum." Remus smiled slightly and followed the woman to the back of the shop.

He had never really been left alone before. Well, maybe when he was a werewolf, but even then his father was there. Oddly enough, Remus wasn't all that afraid. Maybe he was just so overwhelmed with everything that he had forgotten to be afraid. This was all so new. Remus had never been fitted for any clothes before, especially not robes.

"Sirius, hold still!"

"Yes, mother."

Remus glanced over at the boy on the stool next to him. The boy was tall and thin with a mess of dark curls. He stood perfectly straight and gazed out the window, looking as though he wished he was anywhere but there. Remus thought about speaking to him, but the woman beside him was terrifying. She had perfect posture and was dressed in deep coloured robes. All her jewellery looked to be diamonds. She had a very stern expression and was glaring at the boy.

"Sirius, I said hold still!"

The boy, Sirius, turned and looked at her as though to argue. Instead, he just looked back out the window. "I apologise, mother."

The woman huffed. "How long is this going to take?"

Madame Malkin draped a long piece of black cloth over Remus's shoulders. "Just a moment, Madame Black," she said as she set to pinning Remus's robes.

Mrs. Black rolled her eyes. "Alright then. Sirius, you stay right here, do not move. I'll return shortly."

"Yes, mother," Sirius replied in a monotone voice.

Walking out Mrs. Black muttered something about how terrible service had gotten. Remus wondered if there were people like her throughout the wizarding community.

It wasn't until Mrs. Black was gone that the boy spoke again.

"Hogwarts," he asked simply.

Remus squeaked slightly, jumped, and nearly got stabbed by a pin. "Um, ye-yes," he managed.

Sirius smirked slightly. "You stammer," he pointed out.

"Not, um, not usual-usually," Remus said and looked down.

Sirius glanced over. "Oh," he said simply before he went back to staring out the window. "I apologise."

Great. The first boy Remus had met thought he was strange for some reason. He was going to have to work on first impressions. He closed his eye while Madame Malkin worked around him. _Hi, I'm Remus, Remus Lupin._ Was that too formal? Were people his age formal? What was considered casual and what was considered formal? _I'm Remus Lupin, and you are?_ Did that sound casual enough? What if he just said 'Remus' and extended his hand?

"Alright, dear—"

"I'm Remus," he squeaked.

Madame Malkin raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Of course…you're all done now. I believe that your mother is waiting for you."

Colour flooded Remus's cheeks. He was just thankful that the other boy had left. He really needed to work on his people skills. Now that he was thoroughly embarrassed, Remus hurried back to his mother's side. Maybe his father had a book on how to talk to people. Remus also wondered if they taught you these things in school.

Artemis put his hand around Remus's shoulders. "I don't remember robes being this expensive," she said to herself as she paid.

Remus looked down. She sounded worried. How much money was going to school going to cost them? Remus hadn't thought about the price of Hogwarts. All he had been worried about was how safe everyone there would be. His mother had bigger worries. They didn't have very much money.

After Remus was bitten, the Lupin family had to get rid of their home in the city. They last thing any big city needs is a raging werewolf running around. The farm was better. It was safer. There weren't any people around, Remus could be easily hidden, and no one was in any real danger. Unfortunately, moving from a small apartment to a large farm wasn't cheap. John had to give up his old job and find a job closer. His new job paid less. Artemis was so busy trying to take care of Remus that she wasn't able to work. He had ruined their lives, their future, and had made them change everything. Remus was fairly certain that he was the reason for every problem.

"The books are second hand," Artemis explained once they got outside. "But they're in good condition. I got the best ones I could find."

Remus managed a small smile. "They're fine," he promised. They were fine. He didn't need new fancy books. Just books he could read. "Mum, how much of this can we afford?"

Artemis sighed. "Remus, that's not for you to worry about."

"But it is a worry."

"Remus, we have the money for this," Artemis promised him. "Just, please, stop worrying so much. Relax, please."

How was he supposed to relax when he didn't know how much money all this cost? Sure, it wasn't money that he had earned himself, but that made it even worse. This was his family's money and they were spending so much of it on him being about to go to school. That just didn't seem right to him.

"Alright, next we'll get your cauldron and such. Then we'll stop by and get your wand."

Wand? Remus hadn't even thought about getting something like a wand. In all honesty, a wand seemed like such a silly thing to buy. Did wizards really use wands? Like all the wizards and witches in story books? Remus smiled to himself, wondering if when Wizards got older they upgraded to using staffs like Gandalf's. Now that would be funny. He couldn't help but glance around for old men with staffs as he and his mother entered the shop.

"James, please don't break anything."

"Break something? I'm not going to—"

There was a lot of clanging as a display of cauldrons fell over. Remus winced and covered his ears. It was much louder here than he had expected.

Standing a few feet away from Remus was a tired looking man with messy dark hair. "James, I asked you not to break anything."

"They're _cauldrons_, dad. Cauldrons don't break. They only bend and get dints!"

The boy who had knocked over the cauldrons looked to be about Remus's age. Like his father, the boy had incredibly messy black hair and round glasses. Unlike his father, the boy was grinning madly.

"Dad, dad, dad! Fabian's outside!"

"Yes, James, I know that Fabian is outside."

"Dad, I'm going to go say hi to Fabian!"

"Yes, James, go say hi to Fabian," the man said, sounding exhausted.

"Dad, when I grow up I'm going to be Fabian," the boy called as he took off.

"Yes, James when you grow up you be—Don't you dare be Fabian Prewett!"

The man sighed and stared picking up the cauldrons.

Artemis hurried over to him. "Here, let me help you," she offered.

The man smiled slightly. "My son…he tends to get over excited."

"I understand. My son tends to…" Artemis paused and glanced over at Remus, "worry," she muttered under her breath. "So, is it his first year going to Hogwarts?"

The man laughed. "Could you tell because he was so young or so excited? I'm Charlus Potter, by the way. That was my son, James."

"Artemis Lupin," she told him. "And that's my son, Remus. He's also fairly excited…very good at concealing it, though."

At this point Remus was more afraid than excited. Thus far he had only really seen two of his future classmates. Remus had managed to freak one of them out somehow and the other one appeared to be a raging lunatic. Maybe being a werewolf really wasn't the worst thing a person could be. After all, Remus could be a crazy cauldron knocking over fool who was obsessed with some boy named Fabian.

Remus wandered around the shop while his mother talked to the Potter man. Maybe he would find someone who was nice. Well, maybe he would find someone who wasn't terrifying. It wasn't very likely, but maybe he would. Mostly, he was interested in all the things in the shop. The scales, the telescopes, the star charts. Remus was wondering if he should get a moon chart at some point.

"Oh, sorry. Did I step on you?"

Remus turned around. He had very nearly been stepped on by an older girl. She was blonde and surprisingly pretty. She also appeared to be attempting to hide.

"Uh, no," Remus said. He had nearly backed into her and she had, apparently, almost stepped on his.

The girl sighed with relief and flipped back her side. "Good. Now, shoo, I'm trying to hide from my boyfriend."

Oh yes, everyone here was insane. That was a fact. Remus was certain that he was the only sensible person in the Wizarding world. "Hide? Are you playing a game with him or something?"

"Yes, it's called I hide and he never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever finds me and hopefully he dies," she explained cheerfully. "I'd like for him to be on fire. Now, shoo. You're going to make him find me."

"Alright, sorry." Remus stepped away and decided to go over to look at telescopes instead. Mainly, he was going to look for the cheapest telescope and try to ignore the fact that he was obviously going to a mental asylum.

Finally, Remus managed to find a collapsible telescope that just had a few minor dints in it while his mother got his cauldron, scales, and phials. Remus tried to figure out how much everything cost, but he couldn't make heads or tails of how much a knut was worth verses how much a galleon was worth.  
"Now then," his mother said once they were back on the street, "you go to Ollivander's while I grab your things from the Apothecary. Okay, Remus?"

Remus only hoped that he wouldn't see anyone strange in the wand shop. Then again, he realized, it was a wand shop! What wasn't strange about that?

"Give him this," she said and slipped seven gold coins into Remus's hand. "And I'll be right over, alright?"

Remus nodded. "Got it. Then we go home and we don't spend anymore money," he said as he walked over to the wand shop.

"You're eleven, dear, not forty. Stop worrying, Remus," Artemis called as they parted.

A small bell over the door chimed as Remus walked in. The shop appeared to be empty and, for a moment, Remus thought the owner might have stepped out.

"Just a moment," called someone from the back.

Remus stood there, trying not to touch anything. Boxes lined the shelves and littered the floor. Several things that looked like sticks lay on a counter. Remus assumed that these were the wands. They didn't look like much. In fact, they really did just look like twigs. He almost wanted to touch one, just to see if it was more than a stick, but the door to the back opened.

An older gentleman came out. He was tall and thin with large pale eyes. He looked Remus over and smiled.

"Yes, come for your wand," he said simply. "And you are?"

Remus cleared his throat. "Lupin. Um, Remus Lupin."

Mister Ollivander nodded. "I see, I see. Alright, which is your wand hand?"

Wand hand? Was that even a real thing? Remus hesitated. "I, um…I'm left handed?"

"Left it is," Mister Ollivander said softly.

After a moment, tape measures came out of nowhere and started measuring every inch of Remus's body. Honestly he was a bit terrified by the fact that measuring tape was floating round him. He took a deep breath and tried to remember everything that he had read. This was normal, perfectly normal. Wizards made things float around all the time. This wasn't out of the ordinary. He had read about this. It was a simple levitation charm, nothing to be afraid of. He wasn't comfortable until the measuring tapes and stopped.

"Let's try…Hawthorne, thirteen inch, with unicorn hair," Mister Ollivander said and handed Remus a wand.

Remus looked down at it. "It's not real unicorn hair, is it?"

Mister Ollivander smiled. "Are you accusing me of using artificial unicorn hair in my wands? Of course it's real."

Alright, alright, this was also normal. There were unicorns, he reminded himself. Unicorns lived in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts. He really needed to remember these things.

Taking a deep breath, Remus flicked the wand. Nothing happened.

"No, no, that's not it then," Mister Ollivander said and quickly replaced the wand. "Ten inch alder with dragon heartstring."

Remus didn't even want to know what dragon heartstring was. He gave it a flick and Mister Ollivander quickly grabbed it again.

"No. Beech wood, twelve and a half inch, with dragon heartstring."

Again, Remus tried and nothing happened.

Mister Ollivander paused and thought for a moment. He looked Remus over before grabbing another wand. "Nine inch, Hazel wood, with a unicorn hair, a bit springy."

This time when Remus waved the wand something did happen. A small shower of silver sparks erupted from the tip, causing Remus to yelp and jump back.

Mister Ollivander smiled. "Very good, very good," he said. "A lot of feeling this one," he muttered to himself.

Remus didn't ask Mister Ollivander to explain this. He was curious, but not all that curious. Maybe he would read about wands later. Right now all he wanted was to find his mother and head home. So, he gave Mister Ollivander the strange coins and went to find his mother.

On their way out of Diagon Alley Remus stared into the shop windows as they walked down the cobblestone street. There were so many strange things that he didn't know what to stare at. There were broomsticks, toads doing back flips, books set up in windows, and all sorts of things he didn't know how to explain. There was one thing that caught his eye. Remus paused in front of Eeylops Owl Emporium. He could see his reflection in the window.

Why hadn't he ever noticed his scars before? His cheeks were littered with white scars, there was one across the bridge of his nose, and several on his neck. He was basically a ragdoll that someone kept putting back together again. No wonder the boy in the robe shop had looked away. Remus stared at himself. He was a monster even when he wasn't transformed.

"Did you see something you need, dear?"

Remus looked away and rubbed at the bandage on his arm. "Specifically no. I see a lot of things that I certainly don't want."

Artemis paused before she knelt down and put her hands on Remus's shoulders. "Remus, are you okay?"

"No I'm not. I'm…I'm all scarred and bruised and…" Remus shook his head. Logic told him that he shouldn't care, but he had emotions that told him that he should feel horribly ashamed.

"Remus," Artemis said slowly. "You're perfectly alright, understand? You're just a person, just like anyone else. You just look a little different. People probably won't notice and, even if they do, they shouldn't care."

Remus took a breath, "I know these earth people better than you, their minds reject things they don't understand."

Artemis paused and raised an eyebrow. "Is that a Doctor Who thing?"

"The first Doctor. Actually, Susan said it, though. Still, it's from Doctor Who."

"Uh huh." Artemis shook her head. "Yeah, if you keep doing things like that then people won't even notice that scars."

"Not helping."

"Remus, you worry too much. You've been worrying all day. Listen, people are going to accept you and we're going to be fine. Everything is going to be alright."

Remus had heard his entire life that everything would be alright. Thus far, nothing had been. Everything had always gone wrong. Still, he nodded and tried to agree with his mother. He didn't want to make her worry about him. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe everything would be alright.

Remus doubted this, but what was the point in arguing? He hated arguing, especially with his mother. Thus far he thought he had done a very good job at being good and quiet. He had only worried about the money and about how he looked. He thought that these were both logical concerns.

Yawning, Remus leaned against Artemis as they left the town and headed back to the Muggle world. He wondered if he was ever going to get any sleep again. He had just been worrying about what was going to happen and how if was going to happen and what he was supposed to do about it. At least now he had all of his supplies, he didn't need to worry about that anymore. And he was able to take Dorian with him. Remus tried to think of the positives. Feeling the bandage under his shirt made him remember that there weren't really that many good things.


	3. Chapter 3

August seemed to fly by all too quickly for Remus. He and his father had spent most of the month finishing up his lessons. Remus had wondered if there would be normal classes at Hogwarts. Artemis had told him about the class list and it had simply baffled Remus. How could you have a school where there were no math classes or science? How did people learn to write essays if there wasn't a class that taught them? It just didn't make any sense to him.

Remus was certain he would be behind everyone else. Most people, he was certain, had grown up in the wizarding world and he was sure that they would know more magic than he did. He thought all the other kids had an advantage. Remus worked hard in his spare time to try to catch up and learn as much as he could. He laid on his bed during all of his spare time, flipping through the pages of his books and reading as much as he could.

History of Magic was by far the easiest class to study for. Remus wrote down timelines and important battles. Potions seemed quite a bit like chemistry. Charms and Transfigurations seemed to mostly be about wand motions and focus. He made notes of all the different plants for Herbology and all the creatures for Defense Against the Dark Arts. By the end of the summer he had a neat stack of papers filled with information and Remus was feeling a bit more confident.

On the First of September, Remus sat on his bed waiting to leave. His trunk was packed and he had a small cage for Dorian. He fiddled with his wand, wondering what he was going to be doing for the next year. What if he couldn't do it? What if he got there and his notes weren't enough? He could understand the information but what about the practical part of it all? Would he be able to perform when the time came?

The anxiety had kept him up the night before. Remus knew that he should have been resting since this was a big day, but he just couldn't stop worrying. He tossed and turned and looked out at the moon. Thankfully, he had another three weeks until the next full moon. That was the only bright side that he could find. He would get to spend his first three weeks of school not being a freak.

The door opened slightly. "Remus," John said, "are you ready?"

_No,_ Remus thought. "I'm worried," Remus admitted.

"I'm shocked," John replied dryly. He opened the door and stepped into the room. "What're you worrying about this time?" John took a seat at Remus's desk and looked down at him.

Remus wondered if he really did worry about much as everyone said he did. He didn't think so. He thought that all of his worrying was perfectly logical. There were a lot of things he felt he needed to be concerned about.

Remus looked down at his hands. "What if I'm not good enough? What if I fail or people don't like me? What if I'm just not a good wizard?"

John thought for a moment. Remus looked like he was about to start crying. "What if Ian hadn't thought that he was good enough to be an assistant" John finally asked. "What if he had left the Doctor all alone to save the universe?"

While Remus did appreciate the reference he didn't feel very much like an assistant. "Assistants have a lot more courage than I do. I'm just…I'm afraid," he mumbled.

Again, John took a moment to think about what he needed to say. "Courage," John said, "isn't just a matter of not being frightened. It's being frightened and doing what you have to do anyway. Remember?"

Remus did remember hearing the Third Doctor say that once. He smiled slightly. "The Doctor always knows just what to say." It didn't make him feel any less scared, but it did remind him that he needed to learn to deal with it. He couldn't just stay on the farm forever. He had to go to school and learn.

"So, are you ready to go now?"

"No…but I will." Remus stood up and grabbed the cage that held Dorian. "Like The Second Doctor said, 'Life depends on change and renewal'."

John nodded. "Good boy," he said as he stood up. "I'll take your trunk out to the car and we'll be ready to go. Be outside in a few minutes?"

"Okay, dad."

John grabbed Remus's trunk and dragged it out of the room.

Alone again, Remus looked around his room. It would be a long time before he saw it again. How was he supposed to sleep in a foreign bed in a strange new place? Also, he was going to have to share a room with other people. Would he even get along with them? Remus glanced over at his mirror before looking away again. He had a feeling that they wouldn't think he was normal. What if they thought he was violent and got into a lot of fights? Remus had never fought anything or anyone in his life! What if someone tried to fight him? What if they thought he was a tough guy? Oh no, this was horrible.

Remus tightened his grip on Dorian's cage. "Calm down, Lupin," he told himself. "You're not thinking like a rational person. Just go and then you'll see how things are."

His little pep talk to himself made him feel slightly better. He wouldn't know how the people were until he got there. He could only hope that they weren't all like the boy in the cauldron shop or the boy in the robes shop. Someone there had to be nice, right?

Remus was done with this insanity. He hadn't complained about floating measuring tape or cauldrons or magic wands. All in all, he thought he had been very understanding of all of this nonsense. He was even willing to deal with the idea that trees could be violent. This, however, just wasn't alright. He wasn't accepting this anymore.

"I'm not running into a wall," he said bluntly.

Artemis was holding onto Remus's cart. She had tried to explain how Platform 9 ¾ worked, but Remus was having none of it. He argued about how it was physically impossible and just simply illogical. A door would have been a better option. He was having no more of this and it was wearing his parents out.

"Remus, you have to," John told him. "Or we can go home. It's your choice."

Holding tight to Dorian's cage, Remus looked up at his parents. "It's a _wall_," he said for the fifth time. He had run into walls before and he didn't fancy doing it again. "It's physically impossible for a wall to be more than a—"

That was when Artemis gave Remus a light push into the wall.

Remus expected to crash but instead he just tumbled backwards onto a platform. He blinked several times and looked around. There were a lot of people all crowding on the platform beside a large scarlet train. Steam billowed out from the train and filled the air above it. People were laughing and hugging each other. Old friends greeted each other loudly. Parents were hugging their children and some were crying.

"See, it wasn't so bad," Artemis said as she and John appeared beside Remus. "Now, the train is going to leave soon so we have to hurry up."

"You pushed me into a wall," Remus whined as he picked himself up off the ground. "Why would you do that? Are you trying to give me a complex?"

Artemis forced a smile. "Trying? No. Remus, there's one thing you're failing to see."

"And what is that exactly?

"It's bigger on the inside."

Remus paused. Thought. Then he smiled. It was. The Platform was just like the TARDIS. The Platform was the TARDIS, his wand was the sonic screwdriver, and Hogwarts was a universe waiting to be explored.

"Alright, now then, maybe we should get you on the train," Artemis told him.

Remus nodded. "On the TARDIS.

John sighed. "Yes, on the TARDIS…"

Remus followed his mother along the platform. She seemed to know exactly where she was going. Remus was still staring around at everything and trying to figure out how that wall worked.

He found an empty compartment in the middle of the train and his father helped him get the trunk inside. Stepping back off the train, Remus was immediately hugged by his mother again.

"We're going to miss you, sweetie."

Remus had never been away from home before in his life. This would be the first time that he was ever separated from his parents. He already felt homesick. Setting Dorian down, he wrapped his arms around his mother. Christmas wasn't so far away, right? He could last a little while, right?

"I'll miss you too," he mumbled.

Sniffling, Artemis pulled away and brushed Remus's hair back.

"Remember what Professor Dumbledore said, don't tell anyone about your condition," John said, looking like he didn't quite know what he was supposed to do.

That was the last thing Remus wanted to do. What an awkward conversation that would be. "I won't," he said and shook his father's hand as a way of saying goodbye.

""Be good and we'll write to you very soon," Artemis promised.

Remus and his mother hugged again and then Remus picked up his cat and got onto the train. He stared out the window, watching his parents for a moment before the train started to move. His parents faded out of view and Remus was alone. He opened the cage and let Dorian out to rest in his lap. The kitten mewed loudly and pawed at his shirt.

It wasn't very long at all before the compartment door opened and a boy stumbled in. He was a bit pudgy and had hair short blonde hair.

"You're not James," he declared immediately. "Do you mind if I sit here and wait for my friend James?"

Remus blinked and nodded. "I, um, I don't mind." How was he supposed to talk to this boy?

The boy sat down. "Nice cat."

"Oh, thanks. This is Dorian."

"Hi Dorian," the boy said and reached over to lightly pet the cat. "I'm Peter."

Remus wasn't sure if the boy was talking to the cat or him. "I, um, I'm Remus," he finally said.

"I was talking to Dorian…but Remus is a cool name," Peter said as he sat back. "I'm supposed to be with my friend James. James said that he would meet me on the train, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to wait for him or if I'm supposed to go and find him. If I don't find him then he'll ask where I was but if I go looking for him then he'll ask why I didn't wait for him," Peter explained.

"That's quite the conundrum."

Peter looked up. "The con-what?"

"Oh, conundrum. It's like, you know, that's a problem."

"Ah." Peter still looked confused. "You use really big words."

Remus looked down. "I'm sorry, I'll do my best not to do that."

"And you talk funny."

Well, this was off to a good start. Now this kid thought that he was weird too. Remus went over the conversation to see where he had gone wrong. He didn't think that conundrum was such an unusual word. His father used it all the time.

"Hey," Peter said suddenly. "I got an idea!"

Remus looked back up. "Uh…an idea?"

Peter nodded. "A good idea. It's a way to fix my con-nea-drum."

"Conundrum," Remus corrected.

"Right, whatever, Anyway, what if I wait here and you go find James for me?"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "I don't know if that's the best solution."

Peter pouted. "Why not?"

"I don't know who James is or what he looks like…" Nor did he know who James was or if James was even a real person. What if this was all just a trick of some sort?

Peter smiled. "Nah, you'll know him. He has black hair, round glasses, and he's pretty much the coolest guy ever. Just look for the guy who looks like he's the coolest guy ever and that'll be him."

Remus knew who the coolest guy ever was. That was The Doctor and The Doctor wasn't eleven. Still, he didn't want to start off the year by doing the wrong thing, right? He wouldn't make any friends if he denied such a simple task, right? He wasn't sure how friends were made.

"Um, okay…I'll try to find James."

"You're my hero of right now," Peter said and relaxed a bit more. "And I'll tell James how cool you are and then he'll be your friend and then we'll be the coolest kids in school."

That was something that excited Remus. Here he had thought that everyone would hate him and now he had the opportunity to be cool. Walking down the corridor, Remus wondered what it would be like to be cool. How many friends would he have? Would people help him to learn magic?

Remus stopped and looked around. He had absolutely no idea where he was going. He was just a lost little boy with a cat. Dorian mewed loudly and stared up as though even he thought that Remus was being silly.

"Don't worry, Dorian," he assured the cat, "we'll find this boy."

Remus glanced into the open compartments. He found several older students, several students with black hair, and several students with glasses. He did not, however, find anyone with black hair and round glasses.

He was just about to give up when he was nearly run over by a red haired girl. She was storming out of a compartment and was practically dragging a dark haired boy behind her.

"Oh, excuse me," she said politely before she continued down the corridor.

She had looked absolutely furious. Remus blinked several times. Yes, everyone here was quite mad, of that he was certain. And now he was obviously going mad. He had just let a strange boy talk him into wandering around a train to find a boy that Remus didn't even know. What was the point of it?

"You're a Black," a boy in the compartment said. "Merlin!" The boy spoke with a Welsh accent. It might've been very pretty had the boy not been screaming.

"Does it really matter that much?" The second boy sounded very posh when he spoke.

"Of course it matters! Ugh, I seriously thought you were alright. Now you tell me that you're Sirius _Black?"_

"Do you have a point?"

Remus peeked into the compartment. There was a boy with dark hair lounging on the seat, staring up at the ceiling and looking irritated. Another boy was standing up and looking down like the boy on the bench was something disgusting.

Remus looked the standing boy over. Black hair, round glasses… "Excuse me?"

Both of the boys looked over.

"I, um…I was just…"

The boy on the bench got up and smiled. "Hey, I know you. You are that boy from the robe shop, the one with the stutter, correct?"

Oh, well, this was a pleasant way to start off the year. What a lovely introduction. "Oh, yes, I—"

"See that? Only evil people make fun of stutterers like Stuttering Stanley over here."

"You legitimately just made fun of him."

"Did not!"

"Excuse me," Remus said again. "I just thought—"

"Don't listen to him," the boy with glasses said. "He's evil."

"I am not evil!"

Remus squeaked slightly. "I was just wondering if you were James," he said quickly.

The boy adjusted his glasses and smiled proudly. "James Potter, that's me. You must've heard about how great I am."

Remus nodded awkwardly. "Right, I was just—"

"How great of a bigot you are, you mean," the other boy mumbled.

James whipped around. "Hey, don't use words that I don't understand to describe me."

"It means someone who dislikes something based on something ridiculous," Remus said.

"Don't call me what he said that meant," James said without missing a beat. "Now, kid, did you wanna talk about me?"

Remus cleared his throat. "Um, actually, erm, a boy named Peter was looking for you."

James groaned and rolled his eyes. "I was trying to avoid him! Merlin. Now he's sending the search party out looking for me."

"I am fairly certain that there is no reason for you to find him if you do not want to," Sirius said.

James looked over at the boy. "Yeah I do, because that's what friends do. You wouldn't know that, being evil and all. Evil people don't have friends, unless their friends are evil! And evil friends are the worst kind of friends! I'm Peter's best friend." James huffed and turned to leave. "Don't bother with him, kid, he's evil just like the rest of his family."

Remus blinked and watched James storm away. He wasn't entirely sure if he should follow him and go back to Peter or not.

"Ignore him," the boy said as he lay back down. "I am not evil. I'm eleven. You cannnot be evil until you're at least fifteen."

Remus was almost certain that there was no age limit on being evil. Still, this boy didn't look evil. He just looked lazy.

"You can sit down if you would like too. You do not want to associate with people like Potter. He isn't a good person, in case that much wasn't already obvious."

Confused, Remus did sit down across from the boy. He sighed and shook his head. He had no idea what was happening, but he was sure of one thing. He wasn't going to be the coolest kid in the school.

"I'm Sirius," the boy said without bothering to sit up. "And I'm not evil."

Remus had read a bit about introductions and nowhere in any of his books did it mention that you were supposed to mention whether or not you were evil when you introduced yourself. "Um, I'm Remus…and I'm not evil either."

"Good, we're both not evil. At least we have got that settled. Nice cat."

Remus smiled down at Dorian. "Oh, this is—"

"Boring." Sirius sat up and ran his hand through his hair. "So, have you got any family at Hogwarts?"

Remus shook his head.

"Lucky you. I have my older cousin, Cissy. She's insane," Sirius explained. "Well, she's not as insane as her sister, but she's still not all there. She set her boyfriend on fire seven times over the summer. And that was just during one dinner!"

"She set her boyfriend on fire?"

"Well, he's not technically her boyfriend, but they must get married. Auntie says so. When Auntie says you must do something then you must do it or something bad will happen to you. Anyway, Cissy, she's crazy. She's in Slytherin. My whole family has been in Slytherin, what about yours?"

Remus should have asked his mother what house she was in, but it had slipped his mind. He had been so worried about everything else that he hadn't even thought about the houses. "I don't know…I mean, I just found out that there are wizards."

Sirius paused. "Wait, you're a Muggle-Born?"

Remus blinked several times. "I, uh, I don't know what that is."

"It's someone who doesn't have any magical parents."

"Oh, no, my mum's a witch. I just didn't know anything about magic until Professor Dumbledore explained it all. Mum didn't mention any of this to me. She thought it would—well, she just didn't." If he mentioned that his mother didn't want to get his hopes up then it might make Sirius start asking why.

Sirius didn't ask why. Instead, he just shook his head. "Yeah, I'm going to say that you're a Muggle-Born. Technically, you're a Half-Blood, but since you don't know anything about magic I'm going to consider you a Muggle-Born. You absolutely have to be careful. Especially if—"

The door to the compartment opened and shut very quickly. The girl that had almost stepped on Remus in Diagon Alley was there. She leaned against the door and panted. Her hair was slightly fizzed and she looked as though she had been running.

"Sirius," she said and smiled slightly. "Be a dear and kill me now." The girl had the same posh accent as Sirius; hers just seemed a little more natural. It wasn't nearly as forced as Sirius's was.

Sirius sighed and looked over to Remus. "Remember that crazy cousin I told you about literally two minutes ago? This is her." Sirius's whole posture changed. He smiled, relaxed a bit more, and his accent even changed into a much more relaxed one.

"I'm not crazy! I'm just hiding!" She peeked out at the corridors. "I was hiding in the lavatory, but Lucius sent Harmony Able in there and she found me and then I had to leave, then I saw you and now I'm hiding."

"Insane, like I said." Sirius smiled slightly. "Narcissa, have you ever thought about—"

"No," Narcissa said before Sirius could say anything. "I once thought about throwing Lucius off the train, but that's not what princesses do and I'm the princess," she said through her teeth.

"She's the princess, best not forget that," Sirius told Remus. "Would you like to sit with us?"

"No."

"Are you going to sit with us?"

Narcissa paused and considered her options. She glanced out the corridor and then over at Sirius. "Yes, yes I am," she finally said before collapsing into the seat beside Remus. Instantly, she lit up. "Kitten" she squealed. "Can I hold him? I'm holding him," she declared as she took Dorian from Remus's lap and started petting him.

Sirius shrugged. "She does this."

"I'm the princess," Narcissa said as though this explained everything.

"Yes, you're the princess."

"That's Dorian," Remus explained.

Narcissa smiled and cradled the kitten. "So cute. Where'd you buy him? Maybe daddy will buy me a cat."

"Cissy, you'd just get drunk and forget to feed it," Sirius reminded her.

Ignoring that, Remus went on, "I didn't buy him. One of out cats had kittens and Dorian was the smallest so I kept him in my room because he wasn't big enough to eat with the other cats. We had to bottle feed him and everything." He was a bit more comfortable now that he was talking about Dorian. "He's grey, so I named him after Dorian Grey from a book. Um, the man in the book wasn't grey, he was—"

"Boring," Sirius declared. "I'm hungry."

Narcissa glanced up. "Then go find the trolley."

"I don't want to find the trolley."

"Am I supposed to feed you?"

"In theory."

Groaning, Narcissa reached down and picked her bag up off the floor. She shifted through it before throwing something at Sirius. "Here."

Sirius wrinkled his nose and stared down. "This is chocolate."

"So?"

"I hate chocolate."

"I know."

Sirius groaned and stood up. "Here, kid," he said and threw the candy at Remus. "I'm going to go find the trolley. And if I happen to see Lucius—"

"There's money in my bag," Narcissa said instantly. "Don't you dare tell him where I am!"

"Thank you," Sirius said as he reached into the girl's bag. He smiled as he left.

Remus stared down at the chocolate in his lap. "Mother says I'm not supposed to have sweets," he said to himself.

Narcissa smiled softly and looked over at him. "Such a nice boy. You'll notice one thing, though."

"What's that?"

"Your mother isn't here," Narcissa said and grinned. "Go on, I don't want it. Lucius sent me a box of at least twenty of those little treats. I fed most of them to my younger cousin. I like chocolate, but I hate Lucius. I plan to tell him that they were terrible."

Remus looked down at the candy again. The chocolate was imported from somewhere, he couldn't read the wrapper. "Oh, um, okay." He would have to remember to not tell his mother about this.

Remus opened the package and popped the candy into his mouth. It was absolutely amazing. How had he never had this before? Remus thought that this was something that everyone should have. Why was it that Sirius didn't like this? Chocolate was probably the most amazing thing he had ever eaten.

"You really like that, huh?" Narcissa shook her head. "There are some more in my bag, you can have them."

While he might not be the coolest boy in the world, Remus certainly felt like he was the luckiest. He had managed to discover a new thing that was absolutely brilliant.

Sirius came back and everything was quiet for a few minutes. Narcissa stared out the window while petting Dorian, Sirius was eating like a maniac, and Remus had gotten himself another piece of chocolate and was thoroughly enjoying.

"So," Sirius finally said, "if you had the choice what house would you go to?"

Remus thought about it for a moment. "Probably Ravenclaw," he told him.

Sirius wrinkled his nose. "Only if you want to be a know-it-all prat."

"Oh…"

Narcissa didn't look away from the window. "Oh, they're not all bad, Siri. Just some of them."

"Maybe Hufflepuff, if not Ravenclaw."

"Ew," Narcissa muttered.

"Yeah, never say that again," Sirius agreed. "It's not that there's anything wrong with Hufflepuff. It's just that, well, they're Hufflepuff. They're not the best house, but they're not the worst."

Remus shrugged. He had thought about it quite a bit and, really, all the houses offered something different. He thought that all the houses represented each aspect of a person and there was no way a person could only be one thing. Everyone was a little bit of something. A person could be both brave and loyal and a person could be witty and cunning. It seemed a bit ridiculous to think that someone represented one more than the other.

"Maybe Gryffindor," he finally said.

Narcissa laughed. "That's where Siri wants to go," she said.

Sirius's face turned bright red and he looked down. "I never said that. I just said I didn't think I was a Slytherin."

"Everyone in our family has been in Slytherin," Narcissa explained. "Even my sister who isn't my sister who I'm not supposed to talk about was in Slytherin." Her smile faltered slightly and she focused on Dorian again.

"I never said I wanted to be in Gryffindor," Sirius muttered.

Narcissa rolled her eyes. "Look, I don't give a damn where you go, I just care where I go. And I'm going somewhere where there are people I like, like my friends. This has been….perfectly horrible. I'm going to go find Mandy and change into my robes. I'd suggest you two do the same. And by that I mean change into your robes, not find Mandy._ I'm_ finding Mandy, you two just stay here." Narcissa said all of this very quickly. She sat Dorian down on the seat and grabbed her bag.

"Aren't you worried about your boyfriend," Sirius mumbled.

"Siri, I just realized that I'm hiding with eleven year olds. Honestly, I think I can deal with Lucius. Besides, I have my wand," she said cheerfully before heading out.

Sirius took a deep breath. "She gets this way whenever someone mentions Andi."

Remus reached over for Dorian. "Who?"

"Nobody," Sirius said and shook his head. "C'mon, we'd better change. We're probably getting close to the castle now."

The castle was absolutely amazing. Remus followed Sirius off the train and he stared up. Across the lake sat the castle, huge and all lit up. It was real, it was all real. This was the school, this was Hogwarts. Remus couldn't help but smile. It was so pretty. It had large turrets at its top and it looked so inviting. The whole farm could've fit inside it and there would still have been room. Remus nearly broke his neck staring at it. Remus had slipped Dorian back into his cage and sat him on top of his trunk as he had been instructed to do.

"First years to the boats, first years to the boats," someone was saying.

"Hey, it's you!"

Remus turned around to see Peter smiling at him. "Oh, hi. Did James find you?"

James was standing beside him, looking annoyed. "Obviously I did. Did you get any evil on you?"

"Pardon?"

"Any of the evil from Sirius Black, did you get any on you?"

Remus thought that perhaps he should tell James that Sirius wasn't evil and was, in fact, just a normal boy. However, he got the strangest feeling that James wasn't the type of person to listen to any kind of logic at all. Instead, Remus shook his head and hoped for the best.

James shrugged his shoulders. "I don't buy it," he said and headed toward the lake. "C'mon, Peter."

Peter smiled. "Its okay, James doesn't really think you're evil. You can share a boat with us."

Remus would have rather found that nice Sirius boy again and shared a boat with him, but it didn't look like there were too many options here. So, he just followed behind Peter. "Boats?"

There were, in fact, several small boats on the shoreline. Remus stopped and looked down. "They expect us to ride in these," he asked. No, this was more unsafe than the wall had been.

"They move themselves across the lake," James explained. "Just get in."

"This seems dangerous."

"It's not."

"They're putting small children on small boats in a large lake. Explain to me what's safe about that."

James rolled his eyes. "We'll make sure you don't fall out, okay? Trust me."

Remus hesitated. This seemed like a horrible idea. In fact, this seemed like the worst idea. Whimpering, he sat down in the boat beside James and held on tight to the side of the boat. "Unsafe, unsafe, unsafe," he mumbled.

When the boats started moving Remus held his breath. They were moving themselves along the water and that only worried him more. Couldn't magic be faulty?

"Are you going to have some kind of panic attack or something," James asked. He seemed very relaxed as though this was something he did everyday.

Remus shook his head though he wasn't really sure. He didn't like water and he certainly didn't like being in a tiny boat in the water. He stared down at the black surface of the lake. It was too dark to see anything.

James sighed. "You know what'll make you less afraid?"

Remus looked up. "Land?"

"Something like that…" James grinned before he shoved Remus into the lake right before the boats went under a sort of cliff.

Remus didn't have time to scream. He plunged into the water but he was only there was a second. Something grabbed him around the waist. It took a moment for Remus to register that this was a tentacle. So, this was how he died. He wasn't going to drown but was instead going to be murdered by a squid. Remus tried to scream but only managed to take a large amount of water into his lungs,

After a moment of struggling, Remus was able to breathe again. The squid had lifted him up and put him on dry land. He seemed to be in an underground harbour or something. He was cold and dripping wet.

"I suppose you fell in?"

Remus squeaked and looked up. There was a tall stern looking woman looking down at him.

"We have one like you every year," she explained before getting out her wand. She waved it and Remus was dry. "There." She turned her attention to the boats that were now docking themselves. "First years, follow me."

Remus got back in the line with the twenty-two other students. He wasn't a happy person at all. Hogwarts seemed so nice, but he had just nearly died by being shoved into a lake! What if he had drowned? What would've happened then?

"My dad told me that when you fall out of the boats a squid grabs you," James said as he caught up with Remus. "I wanted to see if it was true."  
"Well it is," Remus mumbled.

James rolled his eyes. "Don't be so moody. That's your new name, Moody."

And now he had the most annoying nickname ever. Remus groaned as he walked up the steps and into what seemed to be a foyer. At least he was dry.

Remus looked around the huge stone room. Were all the rooms at Hogwarts this large?

"I am Professor McGonagall," the woman explained, "and we're about to begin the start-of-the-term banquet. However, first you must be sorted."

Remus listened closely as she explained the sorting hat and the different houses. If he had to live in a place where his roommates were like his family then he could only hope that James wasn't there. As long as they were in different houses Remus was happy. He waited patiently in line with the students as the door opened up.


	4. Chapter 4

Following the others into the Great Hall, Remus was absolutely in awe. The Great Hall was, well, great. It was huge and flags representing the different houses hung from the ceiling. Or, rather, what would've been the ceiling. Above them was what seemed to be the night sky. Remus, having read his history of Hogwarts book, was well aware of the fact that this was merely an illusion. He did not, however, feel the need to point this out to anyone. Candles floated in the air over the students heads. Everyone seemed to be eager to either see the sorting or eat. Remus assumed that they were excited to eat because he couldn't imagine older students being interested in this.

There was a hat sitting on a chair. Remus listened as it was explained that they would all wear this hat and the hat would put them in the right how. Remus wasn't so sure about it. How was a hat supposed to know what he was thinking and what he was made of inside? It was just a hat.

That was when the brim of the hat opened like a mouth. Remus listened to the hat sing. A hat was singing! Remus's knees felt weak now. Maybe eventually things would make sense. Right now Remus just wanted to lie down. He was so tired. Maybe it would've been better if he had slept the night before. Instead he was standing in the middle of a room waiting to try on a hat.

The hat finished its song and Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. "Abbott, Thomas," she called.

A terrified looking blonde boy squeaked and ran forward.

Remus watched Thomas carefully. He was shaking when he sat down. Professor McGonagall slid the hat on Thomas's head and it fell down over his eyes.

After a few seconds the hat yelled out, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The Great Hall erupted into cheers as Thomas ran to the Hufflepuff table where he was greeted by his new housemates.

Remus swallowed and tried not to pass out. He didn't want to make a scene here.

After Susan Bellamy was sorted into Gryffindor it was Sirius's turn. Remus watched Sirius walk slowly up the hall and sit down. He looked terrified.

It took the hat a few minutes this time. The hall was silent as Sirius sat there. Them suddenly, the hat shouted out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Remus was a bit surprised. After all, Sirius had said his entire family had been in Slytherin. Sirius seemed surprised too. He blinked several times before he wandered over to the Gryffindor table where he was greeted a little less warmly than the others.

James scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Since when do they put evil people in Gryffindor," he mumbled.

Waiting was the worst part. Remus wondered if he would be in Gryffindor. He watched as Lily Evans walked over after being sorted into Gryffindor. Or would be in Ravenclaw like George Johnson, or Hufflepuff like Gregg Johnson. Gregg and George looked to be twins, what made them so different that they would be in separate houses? Or, would Remus be like Marge Cain and be in Slytherin? He wasn't sure.

"Lupin, Remus," Professor McGonagall called after Annie Klein was sorted into Ravenclaw.

Remus took a deep breath and walked across the hall. He sat down on the stool and let Professor McGonagall slip the hat over his head.

_Ah, you're quite intelligent, I see._

It took Remus a second to realize that the hat was talking to him. "I like to think so," he replied quietly.

_Could be Ravenclaw…but there's something in there. Something…different._

"No," Remus said instantly.

_Yes, something in here. Something animalistic lives inside you, doesn't it?_

Remus took a deep breath. "It's just a part of me."

_And you accept it?_

"There's nothing else to do. I can't ignore it. Dad says to be brave and try to deal with it."

_Be brave,_ the hat repeated. _And you are brave. Brave and very, very good. Yes, there's a lot of goodness inside of you, isn't there? Sensitive…feeling…it'd better be_ "GRYFFINDOR!"

Remus let out a sigh of relief. He was honestly shocked. Getting up off the stool, he handed the hat back to Professor McGonagall before heading toward the Gryffindor table. Someone slapped him on the back and congratulated him as he sat down beside Sirius.

"Surprised," he asked Sirius.

Sirius sighed and shook his head. "I don't even know," he mumbled.

Sirius didn't look thrilled at all. Remus wondered if he would've been happy with any of the options. He hadn't seen too keen on Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw and Remus didn't know how he really felt about Slytherin. Or maybe Sirius just wasn't a happy person to begin with. There was really no telling.

Remus watched the sorting continue. Peter Pettigrew walked forward, shaking slightly. He sat down on the stool and, after a moment, he was sorted into Gryffindor.

Next was James Potter. He walked confidently across the hall and sat down on the stool, smirking slightly. He was only there for a second before the hat shouted out 'Gryffindor'.

James grinned and swaggered over to the Gryffindor table a little ways away from Remus.

Sirius groaned and put his head down.

"Um, Sirius? Are you alight," Remus asked as Mary Quibb was sorted into Slytherin.

"Not really," Sirius mumbled. "My mum is absolutely going to kill me." He paused. "No, not kill. She won't kill me, exactly. That's not subtle enough. Maybe she'll just cut out my tongue or something."

Remus wasn't sure if that was a joke or not. Sirius didn't look like he was joking. "You're mother isn't here right now," he said, quoting Narcissa.

Sirius sat back up and looked at Remus for a minute. "So, you're saying that I should enjoy this while all my limbs are still intact?"

"Uh…"

"That's right," Sirius said and smiled. "I'm going to have so much fun while mum isn't around. Oh, I can have fun."

For some reason this worried Remus. Maybe it was the manic look on Sirius's face.

After Zabini, Dax was sorted into Slytherin the hall fell silent.

Remus looked over at the teacher's table and saw Professor Dumbledore standing there. Remus smiled slightly. He really felt quite lucky now that he was here at school. It must have taken Professor Dumbledore a lot of work to be able to get him here.

"I would like to welcome you all to another year at Hogwarts," Professor Dumbledore said. "I would like to tell our first years and remind some of our returning students of the rules. There is no entry to the forbidden forest and there is to be no magic used between classes. I would also like to mention that there is a new tree on our grounds. Unless you would like to spend several days in the hospital wing I would suggest not going near it."

That must have been the violent tree that Dumbledore had told him about before.

"Also, I would like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Please welcome Professor Priam Nemoma."

Everyone clapped briefly and Remus glanced over the professor. He was a thin man and he seemed happy enough to be there. His dark hair was just long enough to pull back, his glasses had slid down to the edge of his nose, and his green robes had seen better days.

"Now then," Professor Dumbledore continued, "let the feast begin."

Food magically appeared on the golden plates before them. Remus blinked and stared down. He looked around. He seemed to be the only one amazed by this. Then again, everything was pretty amazing to him right now.

The food was also amazing. Remus hated to admit it, but this food was better than the food his mother cooked. Remus ate until he was stuffed.

That was when something terrifying happened. A ghost flew out of the table and Remus, in his surprise, nearly toppled over backwards in his chair. Sirius, thankfully, managed to steady him.

"Nice to see so many young faces," the ghost said.

Remus went white. Why was everything so bizarre?

"Nick," a boy said, "you've nearly scared this kid to death."

"My apologies," the ghost, Nick, said. "It's always nice to make an entrance."

Remus was certain that there were better ways to make an entrance that to float right through the table and terrify someone. He took several deep breaths. All he wanted to do now was get into the bed.

Professor Dumbledore seemed to agree with this idea. He stood up again. "If you would all follow your Prefects to your houses. I do believe it's time for everyone to get themselves into bed."

"Gryffindors follow me," a sandy haired boy said. "I'm Gideon Prewett and I'm your Prefect. Any problems just come to me." He paused. "Don't confuse me for my twin, Fabien. Then you'll just get into trouble."

"Don't tell people we're twins," someone yelled. "He's a liar! We're not even related."

"Shut up, Fabien!"

Remus walked beside Sirius up several sets of staircases and down the corridor. How was he ever going to figure how to get around this castle? That was when he got the best idea ever. He would make a stair chart. Yes, that would show where everything was and he wouldn't get lost. He would have to work on that over the weekend when he had some spare time, provided he wasn't too busy with his schoolwork.

At the end of the corridor was a portrait of a woman in a pink dress. "Password," she asked.

"Remember the password," Gideon said. "Mandrake," he said clearly.

The door opened and they all followed him inside. The dormitory was warm. Several comfortable looking couches were set up and there was a roaring fire in the fireplace. It looked so cosy and it didn't look as strange as the things that Remus had seen so far. There were no floating candles and no ghosts. That was what he liked the most about it.

"Alright, boys to the left, girls to the right," Gideon announced.

Sirius and Remus headed up the spiral staircase. There were four bed set up. Four poster beds with deep red curtains hanging around them. There trunks sat at the ends of the bed.

The first thing Remus did was let Dorian out of his cage. The kitten seemed grateful and Remus sat him down on the bed.

"It's great," Remus said, grinning.

"It really is." Sirius flopped down on the bed next to Remus's and stared at the ceiling. "I like it, anyway. My mother would hate it!"

"I hate it, that's for sure."

Remus looked over. James and Peter had just come in. James didn't look nearly as happy as he was when he first got sorted into Gryffindor. He glared at Sirius.

"I don't know how you got sorted into Gryffindor—"

"Easy. I put a hat on my head. It really didn't take too much work, which is great. I hate things that take a lot of work."

"That's crazy," Peter said, "that's how I got sorted into Gryffindor!"

Remus stared at Peter before looking over at Sirius. "Is he being serious?"

"No, I'm Sirius! Remember?"

That was, quite possibly, the single worst pun that Remus had ever heard anyone ever say. He hoped that he would never hear it again.

James shook his head and walked over to the bed on the other side of Remus. "I don't like this at all. It's ridiculous. I can't room with a Black. I know what you lot are like. My father has told me."

Sirius merely shrugged. "Fine, believe that I'm evil. We must to live together for the next seven years, so you might as well get used to me being around because I'm not going anywhere for a while."

"I don't have to like it," James said as he started changing. James glanced over at Remus. "Mind me asking how you got those scars? Most people just magic them away, but they can't be magicked away if they were caused by Dark Magic."

Remus wasn't sure how to answer. He couldn't tell James it was because he was a werewolf and he had a tendency to attack himself when he was like that. Maybe he could say it was because his family didn't use magic and he didn't know how. But what if James offered to get rid of the scars and then couldn't.

Thankfully, Remus didn't have to say anything. Sirius sat up and glared at James. "Merlin, that's rude. I mean, seriously. Can you not be a little more polite? The kid could be really self conscious. I mean, when you have scars that cover most of your face you're probably bloody well aware of it and you know that you're hideous and deformed. No offense, Remus. And how would you feel if he had he been kidnapped by a Dark Wizard and tortured by a magic knife?"

Well, it was nice to be reminded that he was hideous. Remus focused on Dorian. He didn't want to be in the middle of this fight. He just wanted to go to sleep. Why couldn't his roommates just get along?

James blinked. "Geez, sorry Moody. I didn't mean to make you relive the trauma."

"That never happened," Remus muttered.

"Be a little more polite next time. Now he's probably going to have nightmares," Sirius said.

James pursed his lips. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. I'm going to bed. Moody, don't let him fool you. He's no good, that one." He hopped in his bed and closed the curtains.

Peter looked at Sirius and Remus before climbing in his own bed.

Remus sighed and shook his head. "Thanks, Sirius," he said quietly.

Sirius shrugged. "Don't mention it. At least you're being civil."

"Still, that was really nice."

"Don't mention it. I'm going to sleep. I'll see you in the morning," he said and closed the curtains on his bed.

Remus changed clothes and climbed in bed with Dorian. He might've worried about Sirius and he might've worried about the fights between his roommates, but he didn't have the time to. His bed was cosy and his blankets were warm. By the time his head hit the pillow Remus was asleep.


End file.
